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Anurag Chhabra v. Union of India & Ors.

Income Tax – Section 148 notice – Faceless assessment

Punjab & Haryana HC28 May 2025CWP/10931/2025

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What is this about?

CWP-10931-2025, Anurag Chhabra v. Union of India and others, Punjab & Haryana High Court at Chandigarh, decided 28.05.2025 by Justice Deepak Sibal (oral) with Justice Lapita Banerji. Section 148 Income Tax Act, 1961 notice dated 29.03.2025 issued by Jurisdictional Assessing Officer quashed as contrary to notification dated 30.03.2022 requiring faceless assessment; reliance on Jatinder Singh Bhangu (CWP-15745-2024) and Jasjit Singh (CWP-21509-2023); petition allowed with liberty to respondents to proceed in accordance with law.

What did the court decide?

Quashing of the notice dated 29.03.2025 (Annexure P-4) issued by the Jurisdictional Assessing Officer, with liberty to the respondents to proceed against the petitioner in accordance with law. ¶24

Anurag Chhabra Vs Union of India & Ors. — Income Tax | Punjab & Haryana HC (2025)

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IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH

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Sr. No.120

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CWP-10931-2025 Date of decision: 28.05.2025

Anurag Chhabra

....Petitioner

Versus

Union of India and others

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....Respondents

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CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE DEEPAK SIBAL HON'BLE MS. JUSTICE LAPITA BANERJI

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Present: Mr. M.R. Sharma, Advocate, for the petitioner.

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Mr. Varun Issar, Senior Standing Counsel with Ms. Pridhi Sandhu, Junior Standing Counsel for the respondents-Income Tax, Department.

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* * *

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DEEPAK SIBAL, J. (Oral)

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Challenge made through the instant petition is to the notice dated 29.03.2025 (Annexure P-4) issuxed to the petitioner by the respondents under Section 148 of the Income Tax Act, 1961. The primary ground of challenge raised by the petitioner is that the impugned notice has been issued by the Jurisdictional Assessing Officer which could have not been done because in terms of the notification dated 30.03.2022 (Annexure P-1), issued by the Ministry of Finance, Government of India, the impugned notice could have been issued only by way of faceless assessment.

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In support of his afore submission, learned counsel for the petitioner places reliance on the following two judgments of this Court:-

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(i) CWP-15745-2024, titled Jatinder Singh Bhangu vs. Union of India and others , decided on 19.07.2024; and

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(ii) CWP-21509-2023, titled Jasjit Singh vs. Union of India

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and others , decided on 29.07.2024.

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JYOTI SHARMA 2025.05.29 11:49 I attest to the accuracy and integrity of this document chandigarh

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CWP-10931-2025

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Learned counsel for the respondents does not dispute the fact that the case of the petitioner is covered in his favour by the law laid down through the aforesaid two judgments rendered by two different co-ordinate Benches of this Court in Jatinder Singh Bhangu and Jasjit Singh ( supra ).

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In the light of the above, in terms of the law laid down in the cases of Jatinder Singh Bhangu and Jasjit Singh ( supra ), the impugned notice dated 29.03.2025 (Annexure P-4), issued by the Jurisdictional Assessing Officer, is hereby quashed with liberty to the respondents to proceed against the petitioner in accordance with law.

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